Did you know that Rudyard Kipling wrote "The Jungle Book" in his home in Dummerston? And that you can stay there?

Disney's "The Jungle Book" opens in theaters nationwide including at The Latchis in Brattleboro. Both Jon Potter, executive director of The Latchis and Tristam Johnson, interim executive director of the Landmark Trust USA knew they had to "spread the word" that Rudyard Kipling not only had a home in nearby Dummerston, but that he wrote "The Jungle Book" there.

Opening night and through the run of the movie, a special display will feature blowups of the five properties now owned and restored by the trust including Kipling's Naulakha. The trust is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special historical display at The Latchis and an opportunity to win a free night's stay at Kipling's home for one or up to eight guests. Attend the upcoming premiere of Disney's new movie "The Jungle Book" at The Latchis in Brattleboro on Friday for a chance to win. The winner will be chosen by luck of the draw and notified on the weekend. Kelly Carlin will be manning the display in the Latchis lobby and answering questions. Drop your contact information in the hat for a chance to win. Available dates will be pre-approved.

The display will also feature historical images and little known facts and information and a take-away rack card. Did you know that Rudyard Kipling had his own post office on Putney Road? Or that you can request a tour of his home anytime (as long as it is not rented)? And that Kipling wrote the Just So Stories and Captains Courageous there, too. It's also been said that Kipling introduced skiing to Vermont and that he played golf with painted red balls when the ground was covered in snow.

It's been 25 years since the Kipling's home Naulakha was purchased in 1991 by the Landmark Trust USA. It was painstakingly restored and open for guests the following year, exactly 100 years since it had been built. You can actually write at his desk, sleep in his bed and soak in his beloved bath tub. The house sleeps eight people, has a fully equipped kitchen, remarkably up-to-date bathrooms, extensive gardens, and even boasts the first tennis court in Vermont, which can be used by guests. You can also play pool on his pool table.

Kipling loved his summer home and during a trip overseas, he confessed to a friend "a desire to be back on Main Street, Brattleboro Vt. USA and hear the sody water fizzing in the drugstore and get a bottle of lager in the basement of Brooks House and hear the doctor tell fish yarns."

Naulakha sat abandoned, though fully furnished, from 1942 until The Landmark Trust acquired it in 1992.

The trust is planning several special events over the year to help celebrate its 25th Anniversary including the launch of a writers award. The other properties owned by the Landmark Trust USA include the Amos Brown Farmstead in Whitingham, the Kipling Carriage House in Dummerston and the Dutton Farmhouse, which along with the Sugarhouse is on the historic Scott Farm property in Dummerston that borders Naulakha.

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